Improved turn-table



CLEMMENTS A.. GREENLEA'ROF INDANAPOLS, INDIANA Letters Patent N99,667,fdated .February 8, 1870.

IMPROVED TURN-TABLE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and ymaking part of thesame.

I, CLEMMENTS ALGREENLEAF, of Indianapolis,in the county of Marion, andState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inthe Construction of Turn-' lables for Railroads, Bridges., 85o., ofwhich the following is a specication.

My inventiourelates tothe direct combination of the ends of thecentrally-divided truss-beams in a i turn-table with each other, as wellas with a central supporting-box, in such manner, that when united, eachbeam shall be continuous, independently of the box, and be also moreirml y secured thereto and snspended thereby, than in the turn-tablesnow in use, the object of my invention being to relieve the central box,upon which the table is balanced, from the strain cfthe load, causing itto be borne wholly by the trussbeams, and to guard also againstaccidental displacement of the connections of said beams by any sudden'Figure 3, an` enlarged vertical section, taken longitudinally in a linedrawn centrally through the supporting-box, as indicated by dotted lines:c x, in tig. l.

Figure 4, an enlarged section taken centrally in a line indicated at yy, through the length of the supporting-box, the pivot-pintle and itssocket-plates, and one of the truss-beams, being removed therefrom.

In the accompanying drawings- A A are the two truss-beams of' aturn-table. Each beam is cast in two divisions of equal length andsimilar configuration, so formed as that when brought together andsecured end to end, the under side of the continuous beam thus obtainedwill present an arc, of which the upper hat side will form a chord, asillustrated in fig. 2 of the drawings.

Each division consists of a thin plate of metal, tapering from the innerwide end bito the outernarrow end c (fig. 2) thereof, with holes cl flleft in its sides to -reduce its weight, and having a flange or rim, ec', projecting on each side, all around its edge, excepting at its innerend b.

The inner wide ends b b of the two divisions of' each beam are properlyfaced, to it very closely and exactly against each other, when theirupper edges are so brought together, in a right line and in the samehorizontal plane, as to form a continuous truss-beam,

A, as illustrated in figs. 1 and 2.-

".ihe two-divisions are connected and secured on top by means ot'wide-headed tie-straps f f, extending across the joint, and let into theupper edges of the beams, as shown in fig. l. l

Keys or wedges 'it' are driven in between one ofthe heads of each strapand the counterpart shoulder of the recess, into which it is sunken, asillustrated in l, 2, and 3, so as to draw and tightenthe joint of the`beam as closely and securely as possible. The divisions of the beam arealso tied at the lower extremity of their joint by means of a crosstie-bar. whose ends are inserted into recesses pierced horizontally ineach face of the joint, and which are caught and held therein by meansof keys or wedges m m, insert-ed at right angles thereto, throughtransverse apertures in ,the beam, in register with like apertures inthe ends ofthe tie-bar, so `that the wedges, when properly driven, shalldraw together the faces' of the joint, and close the same firmly andsecurely. l

The two truss-beams A. A, thus constructed, are bolted centrally againstor upon the ends of a hollow rectangular box, K, which is cast in onepiece, 'with an enlarged aperture in the bottom thereof, to fit over andreceive the pintle upon which the table is pivoted.

lhe ends of this central box K fit in snugly and accurately under theinwardly-projectin g ian ges e in the top edges of the beams, so thatthese flanges, overi lapping and embracing the ends of the box, formahearing or support for the beams thereon.

Projecting strips s s, iig. 3, are also cast upon the inner face of eachdivision of the beams, parallel to their inner ends, to bear against thesides of the box.

g They thus bear and tit closely against the side of the box, upon oneside of the joint in each beam, but upon the other side are removedsufficientlyy to admit of the.

insertion of two wedge-shaped keys, 1t R, between them and the box, asillustrated in 2 and 3. lhese wedge-shaped keys It R are inserted, oneabove the other, from the inner side, and their smaller ends projectoutwardlythrough aperturesin the hean1,and are threaded to receive nuts,by means whereofl they are drawn up and tightened, or else loosened, atpleasure. They serve not only to clamp and tighten the beams laterallyupon the ends oi' tbc central box K, but, being placed one above theother, on one side only of the box, may be used to level and adj ust,with nicety, thev npper surface of each beam, with reference to theaxisof the pintle, and the surface of the cap-plate in the central box,resting thereon.

The upper flanges c c' of the beams resting upon the upper outer edgesof the box K, in combination with lthe side strips s s and wedges R R,embracing and clamping its side edges at eachend thereof', afford such-a bearing and support for the beams, independentof the bolts by whichthey are secured against the box,

. groove formed between the faces of as to measurably relieve the latterfrom the strain of the loadthereon, and afford great security againstdamage from any sudden j ars or strains.

The turn-table issuspended and pivoted, as usual,

'upon a conical pintle,l B, projecting from a suitable solid base orpedestal, C.

This pintle projects up within the central box K oi' the table, andbears against a cap-plate, D, bolted on the top thereof, to cover acent-ral opening therein.

A friction-box, consisting of two circular plates, (the one secured tothe under side of the cap-platefD and the other to the upper side ot' asocket-plate, E, as shown in fig. 3,) which are separated by aseries ofintei-posed steel conical rollers running in a concentric said plates,facilitates the revolution of the table. The upper end of lthe pintle l5is rounded, as usual, so that. the table may tip or vibrate thereon, aswell as turn freely upon the rollers in the i'iction-bax.

(I he outer ends of the two beams A A- are connected' in t-he usualmanner, -by cross-bars F F, provided with rollers, so arranged as toswing over a concentric track,

and yet not touch the same except when the table is tipped out of itshorizontal plane. The Aends of the beams project through apertures inthe cross-bars F F, as illustrated in Iigs. l and 2, and these are thenbox, pivoted upon a pintle, substantiallyv as herein described, isinterposed between the beams, to form a continuation thereof from end toend ot the table, but my invention relates wholly to the improvementob-. tained in theconstruction of turn-tables of this description, byuniting the ends of the two divisions o f each beam, one to the otherdirect, instead of to a box interposed between them, and in so'combining the ends ofthe central box with the centre of thecontinlions'beams thus obtained, as that they shall cover and overlapthe -joints between the divisions of said beams, as hereindscribed.

I claim as my invention, in the construction of turntables- 1.Centrally-divided truss-beams A A, in combination with a centralsupporting-box B, when the two ends of each beam are brought together toform a continuous truss, independent of and exterior to said box,substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. Projecting vstrips or lugs s s and flanges e' e', formed uponeachdivision oi' a divided truss-beam, A, and combined with a centralbox, K, sustaining said beams, when said strips and flanges embrace, 0rpartially embrace and overlap the edges or corners of said box,substantially as herein set forth.

The foregoing specification signed this 30th day of December, 1869.

' GLEMMENTS' A. GREENLEAF.

Witnesses:

J. L. Mo'rnnnsnnan, ALEX. Rame.

